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“Mick Schumacher took me out in two of the races that weekend”- Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou recalls having his weekend ruined by teammate Schumacher

Somin Bhattacharjee
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"Mick Schumacher took me out in two of the races that weekend"- Alfa Romeo's Guanyu Zhou recalls having his weekend ruined by teammate Schumacher

Guanyu Zhou remembers having an on-track altercation with current Haas driver Mick Schumacher back during European F3 in 2018.

Zhou and Schumacher have raced each other multiple times throughout the course of their junior careers. They battled each other on track starting in karts, all the way to Formula 2.

In 2018, both Zhou and Schumacher were competing in the European F3 series, and were teammates at Prema. The former however, recalls one weekend in particular, which he believes was his best in terms of qualifying. In spite of that, he left that weekend point less, after being taken out by his teammate on track.

It was a race weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. He was just a point behind the series leader Dan Ticktum ahead of the outing in Belgium, but it proved to be a disastrous weekend for the Chinese driver, as he lost out of a lot of points in his bid to win the Title.

“At Spa I had my best qualifying,” Zhou said as quoted by GP Racing magazine. “But I came out of the weekend with zero points. In two of the races, I was taken out by a teammate. And then, things just went a bit weird on my side.”

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Mick Schumacher Title victory in 2018 surprised every fan

Zhou didn’t mention Schumacher’s name but it was the German driver who had the on-track altercation with him. Coming into Spa, Schumacher was far off being the Championship leader. However, it turned out to be defining weekend for the now 22-year old.

Schumacher hadn’t won a single race coming into that weekend. However, he managed to win eight out of the next twelve races, to have himself crowned as Champion. In fact, he won five consecutive races with three of those coming at Nürburgring, and two at Spielberg. Zhou’s poor weekend meanwhile, saw his momentum slip and finish P8 in the Championship.

Schumacher is known for taking time to adjust to a car or series. Even in his Title winning 2020 campaign, it wasn’t until round six in Barcelona, did he truly establish himself as a contender. After winning the F2 crown that year, Schumacher landed himself a seat in Haas.

Zhou too joined F2 after his European F3 campaign. He stayed in the series till 2021, and achieved his best finish that year (P3). In 2o22, Zhou followed Schumacher into F1, after signing for Hinwil based outfit Alfa Romeo.

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About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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